Radiation curable (meth)acrylated compounds may be produced commercially from petrochemical sources. The world's supply of petroleum is being depleted and eventually the demand for petrochemical derived products may outstrip the available supply. As a consequence, the market price of petroleum and petroleum derived products will increase making them less desirable.
Biology offers an attractive alternative for industrial manufacturers looking to reduce or replace their reliance on petroleum and petrochemical derived products. The replacement of petrochemicals and petrochemical derived products with products or feedstocks derived from biological resources (bioderived products) may offer many advantages. Products and feedstocks from biological sources are renewable. It may also be a response to the increasing demand for environmentally friendly products and to the price increase of petrochemical derived products.
Bioderived cyclic ether polyols obtained from various crops—we discovered—present a unique chemical structure that could fulfill the need for safer and more sustainable radiation curable resins. The non-aromatic cyclic structure of these derivatives provides high tensile modulus and high glass transition temperature. For instance, isosorbide di(meth)acrylates show unexpected high cure speeds combined with low viscosities and acceptable ink- or coating properties (WO 2011/048739 & WO 2011/048750). The applications requiring such performance are widespread in the industry.
There is however in particular a need for renewable compounds of oligomeric or polymeric nature that would be able to replace Bisphenol A. Today, an alternative for the reprotoxic Bisphenol A in e.g. packaging is a real market need.
In addition there is a wish to replace chlorinated products where possible as these represent an environmental and health occupational problem.